Finally! A homemade vegan meatballs recipe that tastes amazing, makes meatballs that hold their shape, and has an great "bite" to it. These "meatballs" are made with red beans as the base for fiber-rich, protein-rich soy-free vegan meatballs.
These meatless meatballs are amazing with your favorite sauce or in a vegan meatball sub sandwich.
Jump to:
Vegan meatballs
As much as I love making vegan substitutes for my favorite recipes (see these vegan steaks, vegan burgers), I typically buy vegan meatballs because I always found them a pain to make. Many vegan meatball ingredients fall apart as you're shaping the meatballs, or fall apart during cooking.
Not these red bean meatballs!! These are so easy to form and hold their shape well during baking. They hold up to being tossed in a sauce and being served with pasta or on a roll.
Aside from cooked red beans that make a nice paste when they are mashed, there are a couple of other ingredients in these meatballs that help them keep their shape and firm up as they bake: oatmeal to soak up any extra liquid and JUST Egg vegan egg substitute that solidifies as the meatballs cook, making sure they really stick together.
So I hope you give these meat-free meatballs a try and that you love them as much as I do!
Ready to get started??
Related recipe: Vegan Lentil Burgers
Ingredients
This recipe makes approximately 24 hearty meatballs.
- 40-oz can red beans, such as kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups instant quick-cooking oats (not old-fashioned oats)
- ⅓ cup vegan seasoned breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons JUST Egg (6 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to brush over during baking
- 1 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ - 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (you can use 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning instead of the 3 dried herbs)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Related recipe: Mashed White Beans with Butternut Squash
Equipment
- Large baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Large bowl
- Oil sprayer
- Mojito muddler (optional, for mashing beans)
Related recipe: Vegan Cassoulet
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spray or brush with oil.
Step 2: Mash the red beans halfway with a fork or a mojito muddler. Don't make a paste, but try to make sure each bean is at least a little mashed.
Step 3: Add the rest of the ingredients, and use a fork to stir together, taking care not to fling the dry ingredients out of the bowl. Then use your hands to mix everything together, squishing and mashing the beans more. You should have a thick paste.
Step 4: Take about 3 tablespoons of the mixture and form into meatballs with your hands. I recommend rinsing your hands in cool water (under running water or in a bowl) because that prevents the bean meatball mixture from sticking to your hands. I re-rinse my hands in between every couple of meatballs.
Step 5: Place the meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and brush or spray oil over each meatball.
Step 6: Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, flipping the meatballs halfway after 15 minutes. They will get crispy and crackled on the outside. Toss with your favorite warmed up pasta sauce and serve warm.
Related recipe: Vegan Refried Bean Dip
Bean meatball recipe tips
- 40 oz canned beans is about 4.5 cups drained cooked beans. If you can only find the smaller 14-oz cans, you'll need to get 3 cans and use a little less than the full 3 cans. Feel free to substitute with your favorite cooked beans, or a combination of beans. Pinto beans, black beans, and black-eyed peas will work well in this recipe. P.S. Those are all links to my other bean recipes. Check them out!
- If you haven't tried "JUST Egg" vegan egg substitute, I really recommend you try it! It cooks just like scrambled eggs, and it solidifies as it cooks. Because of this property, it makes an AMAZING addition to meatballs that is so much better than flax seed eggs or other egg substitutes. JUST Egg is available at Whole Foods and most large grocery stores.
- The meatballs should keep their shape when formed and not fall apart. If they're too crumbly, stir in a little more liquid (JUST Egg, or maybe even a tablespoon of water). If they're too sticky and feel mushy and start sagging after being placed on the pan, add in some dry ingredients (breadcrumbs, or a tiny bit of oats).
- These meatballs work best when baked instead of pan-fried, so that they cook and brown evenly and have less chance of falling apart from extra flipping and handling in the pan.
How to serve vegan meatballs
- Serve these with pasta and your favorite pasta sauce, sprinkling vegan parmesan generously on top.
- Put them in a soft roll to make a vegan meatball sandwich.
- Crumble or slice them in half and put on your favorite vegan pizza with shredded vegan mozzarella and vegan pizza sauce.
- Top a salad with these red bean meatballs and try one of these vegan salad dressings.
- Snack on them right from the baking pan like I often end up doing!
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Recipe
Red Bean Meatballs (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 40 oz can red beans, such as kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups instant quick-cooking oats, (not old-fashioned oats)
- ⅓ cup vegan seasoned breadcrumbs
- 6 tablespoons JUST Egg vegan egg substitute, (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons), do not use a "flax egg"
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to brush during baking
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ - 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, you can use 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning instead of the 3 dried herbs
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Special equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spray or brush with oil.
- Mash the red beans halfway with a fork or a mojito muddler. Don't make a paste, but try to make sure each bean is at least a little mashed.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, and use a fork to stir together, taking care not to fling the dry ingredients out of the bowl. Then use your hands to mix everything together, squishing and mashing the beans more. You should have a thick paste.
- Take about 3 tablespoons of the mixture and form into meatballs with your hands. I recommend rinsing your hands in cool water (under running water or in a bowl) because that prevents the bean meatball mixture from sticking to your hands. I re-rinse my hands in between every couple of meatballs.
- Place the meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and brush or spray oil on each meatball.
- Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, flipping the meatballs halfway after 15 minutes. They will get crispy and crackled on the outside. Toss with your favorite warmed up pasta sauce and serve warm.
Questions? Feedback? I love to hear from you!